New York starts driver congestion charging despite opposition

NEW YORK: New York launched a controversial scheme on Sunday to charge drivers entering parts of the city, a first in the United States, putting local authorities on a collision course with President-elect Donald Trump.

State governor Kathy Hochul announced in November that drivers entering areas of Manhattan south of Central Park would pay a daytime toll of $9.

That plan revives one, originally with a $15 base fee, that she paused in June, saying there were “too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers.”

Republican lawmakers have called on Trump, a native New Yorker who has vowed to kill the program if elected, to intervene to terminate it.

Areas neighbouring New York City have argued that a charge would hurt their businesses and impair their residents´ ability to commute into Manhattan.

A judge denied an 11th-hour effort on Friday by neighboring New Jersey state officials to block the tolling plan on grounds of its environmental impact on adjoining areas.

That denial cleared the road for the scheme, which had faced other legal challenges, highlighting the difficulty of charging drivers in a country where the car is king.

The local MTA transit authority posted an Instagram video showing its chief executive Janno Lieber unveiling a “congestion relief zone” sign ahead of the system´s activation, to cheers from a small gathering of spectators.

The conservative New York Post newspaper attacked the MTA´s “cheery event” staged “hours before drivers are set to feel the pain.”